Friday, April 27, 2012

x is for x-calibur


i am taking some liberties today with my hard letter x


when my two oldest boys were born, i tried to raise them like they could be anything—but some things i guess weren't included in that anything—i did not want them to have any sort of play guns, army men or other weapons, no knives, or swords, nothing that could be used to hurt each other or teach them to fight---

every stick they found became a gun and every used paper towel tube was a sword---

one Christmas, i insisted that santa bring them babies and strollers---they did love these and played with them lots---racing them and playing dodge the baby carriage—but it was a start

they had a cardboard sink and stove set, where they loved to pretend they were serving gangsters big mugs of beer and whiskey—still I kept trying--

when they were about 5 and 6 we moved to the house I am still in now---it was a boys paradise---almost all of the backyard is woods---they played for hours in the forest, built forts and caught many creatures in the creek at the back of our property-----perfect place for my no weapons allowed boys, to find all of the makings for an arsenal of wooden swords, knives and just the plain old banging your brother over the head with,sticks---one of these awesome inventions was a wooden, sword made from someone's yard marker---this famous sword was given the name of x-cailbur---it was my son dustin's constant companion, up until he was in his teens—i think he really thought it had magic powers and maybe it did--

most of their toys are long gone, certainly the baby dolls and carriages---but once in a while i will come across one of their treasures——sometimes i will pass them on to them and sometimes i just hold onto them a little while longer--

54 comments:

  1. Boys will be boys : ) I haven't posted my x yet but am certain I'll be taking a few liberties with the x word too!

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  2. I had 3 boys and I agree it was challenging. Boys are so full of energy and spunk and mine were so creative. It didn't take too much to occupy them. I think I could have thrown them a cardboard box and they would have created something magnificent with it. They took exploring to new levels though with things they carried home to me like huge bugs, frogs, creepy crawlers- the worst was the snake. :)

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    1. oh, yeah they have brought all of the above home to mama--but the loveliest time was when they put a turtle in the bath with me! thanks

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  3. Loved this post--such sweet memories! Boys are something, aren't they?

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  4. Ha! That's so funny. Kid's never seem to play with a toy the way you'd envision. My daugter's were dressing up their Barbie's as werewolves, vampires, ghosts and zombies the other day. It was creative, but Halloween is months away!

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    1. haha, they do sound extremely creative--thanks tamara!

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  5. It is amazing how they will find anything for a weapon, isn't it? We tried the same thing too with our son but weren't quite as successful as you in keeping them entirely out of the house. He did enjoy playing barbie's though with some of his kindergarten friends. Oh the memories you must have; sounds like a wonderful place for them to explore with all that wooded area!

    have a great day!

    betty

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    1. the woods behind our house, really were a treasure to them--thanks betty :)

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  6. This is beautiful. I say hold on to it as long as you can. Lovely post. Have a great weekend, Lynn.

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    1. awww thanks, mina and you enjoy your weekend too!

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  7. Aw, my heart squeezed at this post. I have four boys and love how they can take anything and make it something awesome. Thanks for sharing this wonderful post.

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    1. boys are neat like that, huh--thanks jackie :)

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  8. a great post, Lynn, with beautiful memories. Thanks for sharing that story.

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  9. We have also made the rule with the guns etc. At first, when he was around 4 or so he searched out things to use as a gun, however now when we have offered to buy him a nerf gun or something similar he has said "no, they aren't allowed in the house" which of course makes a mom proud.

    Boys are unique creatures, can't say I understood how special they are until I had my own. Now I know the capasity to love and care and be very creative.

    Great post, and your boys sound wonderful!

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  10. Isn't it funny how boys naturally fashion weapons out of anything they find? It must be something genetic!

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  11. That was funny, some of the toys you got them, and how they made them work to their interests. X ceptional post.

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  12. That was a great post! I won't be getting any toy guns for my son, but maybe a sword so he can pretend to be a knight and we can go on an adventure. I've also given him a toy kitchen, a vacuum, and my Cabbage Patch doll, all which he loves to play with. I think boys need to learn to be nurturing just as much as they want to play rough and tumble.

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    1. that was my thinking and they both are now great daddies--thanks christine :)

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  13. Oh goodness but you had me cracking up through this post! What's that saying- boys will be boys? LOL And then the end- when you had me tearing up. I think I'm going up in the attic and go through some of the lovelies' old toys. Right now. :)

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    1. awww- i hope you enjoy your looking around!--thanks :)

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  14. Memories for the parents are also memories for the child.

    I'm glad my mother kept extensive photos, it encouraged me to do the same. We need a sense of our own history, and we need some sense of attachment to our past, to fully understand what's good for the future.

    Nice post, and a gentle nod to motherhood.

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    1. we do need that history and photos are a wonderful way--thanks d.g. :)

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  15. a wonderful post, Lynn. I remember keeping an eagle's eye on my kids: no knives, scissors, knitting needles that they could poke around in the sockets,,,anything! And now, even my 7 year old barbies dolls have a sword..:D I do understand where you are coming from with that.:) And oh, the last part of the story, so beautiful. Thanks for sharing. :)

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    1. haha--i tried---now i don't know if i would use the same methods!--thanks cecilia ;)

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  16. I remember playing with sticks as swords and guns. My daughter used one as a fishing pole when we'd get puddles of water.
    Oh, to be young again!

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    1. me too and fishing in my back creek with sticks--thanks ruth :)

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  17. A lot of liberties being taken with X today, but it's hard not to.
    Boys will be boys. I grew up in a time when weapons were pretty much the norm as we were still fighting the Japs and the Injuns. At least that's mostly what we were seeing on TV and in the movies. I never took much to play weapons and mostly preferred the little plastic soldiers and cowboys. I tended to play things like disaster and circus more so than fighting and war.

    I raised girls and none of them were into weapons or violence.


    Lee
    Almost at 100 followers—are you one yet?
    A Few Words
    An A to Z Co-host blog
    My Main blog is Tossing It Out

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    1. i know, my little brother always had cowboys and indian figures in his hands--and one of my grandsons, cannot get enough action figures!! thanks lee :)

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  18. Oh, and lest my comment about "Japs and Injuns" be taken wrong, this was the mindset society had back then and doesn't reflect on the way I felt. One of my best friends was Japanese and I had a crush on a Native American girl in the fourth grade.


    Lee
    Almost at 100 followers—are you one yet?
    A Few Words
    An A to Z Co-host blog
    My Main blog is Tossing It Out

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    1. oh i didn't think you meant it the wrong way in the least!!thanks lee :)

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  19. good for you for at least attempting the baby dolls...:) and yes, boys are so different; it truly is in their genes; not their jeans!
    :)

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  20. Sweet memories - my son and his friend came home covered in mud once to tell that they had a new business venture- they were now clay miners. They were about seven. Outdoor spaces are good for growing imaginations :-)

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    1. haha good one---it really is good for them--thanks lily:)

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  21. I also have two boys who loved playing with swords! When my younger son was born, I bought his big brother a boy Cabbage Patch Kid, so he would have his own baby to play with. This quickly wore off, and he went back to playing with swords. Though both of my boys also loved playing with action figures. eXcellent post about your boys Lynn! Julie

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    1. love it--boys will be boys for sure--thanks julie :)

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  22. I tried to keep out the weapons too. Doesn't work :P

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  23. I did it too. My oldest boy turned all sticks into guns. 10 years later, I gave my second son toy western holster & gun and every stick became a baseball bat.
    Go figure.
    Kate
    http://whenkateblogs.blogspot.com/

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  24. Oh, we tried that too. But when our son made a gun out of a slice of cheese, we gave up.

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  25. I love this post so much -- I had boys too. I still have a few of the things they made in school...love to just look at them and remember.

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    1. awww i am glad you liked it and still have some treasures left too--thanks patricia :)

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  26. I'm an only child -- girl (you probably knew that). I got six shooters and chaps when I was five.learned to shoot a real gun by the time I was ten, grew up to be a pacifist, but I still like to shoot and own several guns. Go figure.

    Love the story about your boys.

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  27. I have to tell you, your description of their childhood games sounds so lovely - I want to live with you guys! I have never bought my boys "weapon" toys, but you are right - they will make do with whatever resources they can find in order to play their games (or beat each other up). And, of course their favorite TV show nowadays is WWE....

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    1. haha i know my boys loved that at a time too---thanks so much for your sweet comments :)

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